Despite industry woes, hope remains for Elgin auto mall

The auto industry is going through tough times, but it's still full steam ahead for the new McGrath Honda of Elgin for the city's fledgling auto mall off Interstate 90.

The dealership hopes to open its new location by August with double the showroom space and 20 more service bays compared than its current location at 955 E. Chicago St., said Todd Feuerhaken, McGrath service director.

"We're hoping for Aug. 1 over there, that's what the projection is," Feuerhaken said. "It's coming along."

Elgin leaders in late September 2007 signed off on an incentive-filled deal for the auto mall, hoping the 86-acre site at the northwest corner of I-90 and Randall Road would attract nine luxury dealers.

Sherwin Portnoy, the automall's project director and partner with developer Location Finders International, said McGrath's opening likely won't be until September of this year.

By that time, Portnoy predicted, the economy will be in the recovery phase, hopefully with the number of jobless claims decreasing and more people making major purchases.

"When McGrath opens, I know he'll do well," Portnoy said. "He'll be a trigger (for more dealerships). When they see the kind of sales he's generating, they'll be impressed."

So far, though, McGrath is still the only dealer to secure one of the nine available sites.

Portnoy wouldn't specify possible dealers that could be coming in the future because negotiations are ongoing.

"We've got a number of leads. Everything is slow right now because of the state of the automobile industry and the state of the economy," he said.

Mayor Ed Schock touched upon the status of the automall during his first-ever Web chat last week.

"We couldn't have had worse timing on the opening of the auto mall," he said. "I think the concept is a good one, We're working on a second dealership, but to be perfectly frank, the pace at which the auto mall will attract new dealerships is going to slow, and in fact may come to a grinding halt, until it's determined over the next year or so, or shorter even, which auto companies are going to be around."